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Historic home built by Naples' first real estate professional on market for $4.5 million

A historic home built by Naples' first real estate professional is on the market for $4,495,000.

The "Old Naples landmark" at 194 14th Ave. S. is known as the Sagamore House and was listed on Nov. 4 by Premier Sotheby's International Realty agent Karen Van Arsdale.

The 3,797-square-foot property includes the main residence and an attached three-story guest house that can only be accessed from the outside.

Built in 1895, the structure is one of Naples' oldest homes, according to Van Arsdale.

"It's one of the oldest documented structures in Naples," she said. "It has been expanded and updated, but (the owners) have kept the charm of the original cottage intact."

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The Historic Palm Cottage in Naples was being decorated for Christmas on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. The staff is preparing for the cottage's event Ten Days of Christmas, with each night, starting at 8 p.m., featuring a "telling of holidays past."

The structure that carries the designation of the oldest house in Naples is the Palm Cottage at the corner of 12th Avenue South and Gulfshore Boulevard. The Palm Cottage was also built in 1895 and is maintained by the Naples Historical Society.

The current owners of the Sagamore House, who preferred not to be named, and previous owners have taken loving care of the home since it's creation, Van Arsdale said.

"It's a very, very special house," she said. "It's a house that has been, over the years, loved for long periods of time with just a few families."

This is the first time that Van Arsdale is aware of that the five-bedroom residence has been on the open market as she said it previously was "transferred among friends."

The historic Sagamore House, built in 1895 by N.P. Sloan, is on the market in Naples for $4.5 million.(Photo: Zach Darrach)

Elaine Reed, the president and CEO of the Naples Historical Society, referred to the property as a "beautiful, historic house with a wonderful story."

According to Reed, the home was first built and owned by a man named N.P. Sloan, Naples' first real estate professional. The structure was named for a silver mine he owned at the time, Reed stated.

According to a 2012 Naples Daily News article, N.P. Sloan Real Estate, the city's first privately owned real estate office, was opened by Sloan on the corner of Gordon Drive and 12th Avenue South in 1923.

Reed agreed that owners over the years have taken tremendous care of the home. At one point, one of the former owners hired divers to bring up logs from riverbeds throughout Central Florida so that they would have the proper materials to maintain the house, Reed said.

"The house has great value to the community," she said. "We are grateful for the previous owners of the house, all of them, to have given such care over the years. That makes it more attractive for people coming down."

Van Arsdale also said that the home's abundance of "soul and history" adds to its attractiveness for buyers, noting the heart pine floors and walls that still remain in many of the rooms.

The historic Sagamore House, built in 1895 by Naples' first real estate professional, is on market for $4.5 million in Naples.(Photo: Zach Darrach)

"People are looking for unique properties," she said. "In our world, so many of the homes are cookie-cutter and have similar architecture and style ... I feel that the home speaks to certain people who love it as the current owners do. And that will be the person who eventually buys it."

Features of the home include an open living room with a gas fireplace, a pool and spa, a master suite with a newly renovated bathroom and fixtures and pine cabinetry and marble countertops in the kitchen.

The guest house features three bedrooms and a vaulted wood-beamed ceiling.

Van Arsdale also said that the ease of walkability from the home to the downtown shopping area and the beach will be a plus for many home shoppers.

Reach Andrew Wigdor at awigdor@gannett.com and on Twitter @andrew_wigdor